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spanishskulduggery · 1 year

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Hi there! I’m learning Spanish and was wondering what are some common idioms or unique ones that a beginner would find useful? Thank you for all your efforts with this blog

Here are some very standard idioms that probably everyone should know:

llover a cántaros = "to rain cats and dogs" [lit. "to rain by the pitcher"]

¿Quién te ha dado vela en este entierro? = "Who asked you?" / "This has nothing to do with you." / "No one asked for your opinion." [lit. "Who gave you a candle in this burial?"]

Perro que ladra no muere. / Ladra pero no muere. = "All bark and no bite." [lit. "a dog that barks doesn't bite"]

entre la espada y la pared = "between a rock and a hard place" [lit. "between the sword and the wall"]

valer un ojo de la cara = "to cost an arm and a leg" [lit. "to cost an eye from the face"]

la media naranja = "soulmate" [lit. "half an orange"; some funny things will also show an orange sock because la media in some countries means "sock", so you might see jokes about finding your media naranja but with a sock]

el pez gordo = "the boss", "the big cheese" [lit. "the fat fish"]

la flor y nata = "the best and brightest" [lit. "the flower and cream"]

pan comido = "easy as pie/cake" [lit. "eaten bread"]

estar en paz = "to be even", to not be in debt [lit. "to be at peace"]

ser un sol = to be a delight, to be very nice [lit. "to be a sun"; I was also told that you can also make it even nicer as ser un sol de primavera "to be a spring sun"]

de brazos cruzados = "without doing anything", "just standing around doing nothing", "sitting back, doing nothing" [lit. "with arms crossed"; it generally gets used when someone could do something or could help, but they're doing nothing... it's often used as quedarse de brazos cruzados which is literally "to remain with arms crossed" or "to sit back and do nothing"]

dar en el clavo = "to hit the nail on the head" [lit. "to strike on the nail"]

valer la pena = "to be worth the effort" [lit. "to be worth the sorrow/pain"]

meter la pata = "to screw up", "to mess up" [lit. "to stick one's foot (in something)"]

la gota que colmó el vaso = "the straw that broke the camel's back" [lit. "the drop that overflowed the glass"]

el príncipe azul = "knight in shining armor" [lit. "blue prince"]

tomar el pelo = "to pull someone's leg", "to tease someone" [lit. "to take/grab the hair"]

con las manos en la masa = "red-handed", "with (someone's) hands in the cookie jar" [lit. "with hands in the dough"]

más a gusto que un arbusto = "happy as a clam" [lit. "more in their pleasure than a shrub"; can also be "snug as a bug in a rug"]

al pie de la letra = "to a T", "to the letter", "exactly" [lit. "to the foot of the letter"]

de pies a cabeza = "head to toe", "through and through" [lit. "from feet to head"]

ahogarse en un vaso de agua = "to make a mountain out of a molehill", to worry about things that don't matter [lit. "to drown in a glass of water"]

I would also add this one which is more slang than anything, but it's very common in many countries to refer to money as (la) plata which is literally "silver". The other one is (la) lana which is "wool"

So, instead of (el) dinero you can sometimes hear people calling "money" or "cash", plata or lana depending on the country. Of course there are other terms, but these are probably the most recognizable ones

#asks #langblr #spanish #learning spanish #spanish vocabulary #idiomatic expressions #long post

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tokidokitokyo · 9 months

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手前味噌

てまえみそ

my-miso

Self-flattery

Note: 手前 is used with its humble first person pronoun definition

四字熟語

#日本語 #japanese #japanese language #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #langblr #studyblr #四字熟語 #yojijukugo #four character idiomatic expressions #tokidokitokyo #tdtstudy

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sayitaliano · 10 months

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giornata campale

is used when you have a very tiring day (either ahead or just finished) or a very full of work day. Days in which you need to put in lot of effort to get through. But it's also a crucial day, as in the first acception of the adjective "campale", used for battles in particular: campale = del campo = on the field (ref. to battles, constructions, weapons...). When used nowadays as an adjective to describe a day, it gets the accption of a very burdensome, filled with things/jobs to do day, very busy and stressing day. Occasionally [heard on tv at least], "giornata campale" can be used to refer to particularly hot days in summer, meaning these are the hottest days of the week, the most difficult ones to get through (crucial days).

eg. oggi è stata una giornata campale (a lavoro) = Today has been a very tiring/busy day at work.

#it #italian #langblr #italiano #italian language #italian langblr #language #languages #parole words #traduzioni #lingua italiana #idiomatic expressions #italian idiomatic sentences

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prettybbychim · 19 days

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whatever you do, under no circumstances should you ever — i repeat, ever — tell neuvillette to “cry me a river” because he will take this as a literal request

#idiomatic expression? never heard of her #this came to me in a fever dream #neuvillette

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algerianity · 3 months

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n Algeria we don’t say “it is none of my business” but we say “تَخْطِي راسِي” and I think it’s beautiful ❤️

#in Algeria we say #dz #algerian #algeria #algérie #dzair #algérienne #amazigh #culture #idiom of the day #idiomatic expressions #idioms

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go-learn-esperanto · 1 year

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Actually, have some European Portuguese (or Portuguese from Portugal) idioms and expressions that I love. (Some might also be used in Brazil. Others definitely are not)

1. Category: Expressions that exist because of the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 (yes there's more than one in this category. No, we're not all 200+ years old but we still reference that earthquake every day)

Rés vés Campo de Ourique - It means that something didn't happen by an inch. This was because after the earthquake the Tsunami almost got to Campo de Ourique, a neighbourhood in Lisbon.

Caiu o Cabo e a Trindade - This means everything is going wrong. It comes from the fact that the earthquake destroyed two convents, Carmo and Trindade.

2. Expressions to say "Go annoy someone else" or just "Fuck off". There's a lot of these.

Vai chatear o Camões - Literally means "Go annoy Camões". Camões is a very well known poet and writer from the XVI century. It's a joke about saying to go annoy somebody who's dead.

Vai ver se estou na esquina - literally "go see if I'm in the corner".

Vai dar a volta ao bilhar grande - literally "go round the big billiard (table?)". Beautiful.

Vai tomar banho - literally "go take a bath"

3. Who the fuck thought of these???

Rebeubéu, pardais ao ninho - it means that there's a commotion and/or a lot of noise. To translate this literally is difficult because Rebeubéu is barely a word but it means something like "(onomatopoeia that means lots of noise) sparrows to the nest".

Montou-se ali um 31 - means the same as the last expression. Literally "A 31 was set up there". You can technically make your own expression with 31 and it will mean the same thing - chaos. Now the question is: What in the world is a 31? Well, until today I also didn't know. It's allegedly a card game.

Nasceu com o rabo virado para a lua - means that someone got lucky even when they did not deserve it. They got what they wanted but didn't do anything to get it. Literally "they were born with the butt turned to the moon".

Cu de Judas - It means far away and/or in a place difficult to find. Literally "Ass of Judas"... Ass in butt. This expression is used all the time.

4. Snork mimi 💤

Vou bater chocolate - literally "I'm going to whisk chocolate"

Vou para o vale dos lençóis (probably my favourite expression that I use all the time because the mental image is amazing) - literally "I'm going to the bedsheet valley"

Vou fazer oó - oó is an onomatopoeia for sleeping. Only used with babies or jokingly.

Vou nanar - technically it means "I'm going to sleep" as nanar is another verb for sleep but I wanted to include it because it's something that you will only hear said in familial situations. It's not informal in the street sense it's just that it's a sweet way to say sleep that it's just not said by anyone else besides your mum when she wants to ask if you're sleepy and want to go to bed. It's cute :)

5. The origin of this one is more interesting than the expression itself

Primeiro estranha-se depois entranha-se - it means that you might not like something at first but you'll start enjoying it with time. Literally means "First you find it's odd afterwards it's engrained". So, this was actually thought by Fernando Pessoa, also one of the most well known portuguese poets and writers. He died in 1937. Anyway, for this wasn't a title of a book or something. He wrote this for a fucking Coca-Cola commercial. Cursed information.

6. ???

Quem anda à chuva, molha-se - literally "Who's in the rain gets wet". It means "WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN, THAT YOUR ACTIONS, HAVE CONSEQUENCES?!?!?!"

Pão, pão, queijo, queijo - literally "bred, bred, cheese, cheese", which is beautiful. It means "Exactly what I just said", "It means just that"

São coisas do arco-da-velha. Literally "It's stuff from the rainbow". It means whatever happen was unbelievable. In the good or bad sense. The most common way of saying rainbow in Portuguese is arco-íris but arco-da-velha is s synonym less used. Galicia still uses it a lot though.

Feito ao bife - (Used all the time!!!) Literally "done at the steak". It means you're fucked lol (aka you were busted and are in big trouble)

#bread‚ bread‚ cheese‚ cheese supremacy #languages #portuguese #european portuguese #idiomatic expressions #silly #portugal #the amount of expressions to say fuck off is honestly hilarious #I'm pretty sure I didn't put all of them

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meddwlyngymraeg · 1 year

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Idiomatic expressions

“Diolch byth!” Thank goodness! (or similar exclamation)

#idiomatic expressions #welsh #learn welsh #dysgu cymraeg #I’ve been away for a bit! Just assignments and stuff and was on my main a bit more #I almost think I’ve forgotten how I formatted things on this blog I’ll double check it #Also yes this is again from Elis James’ Twitter #source: online #vocabulary #Langblr

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8gnorant · 6 months

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Sometimes I recant, or repudiate, my initial statements/opinions and that is ok. That is the turn of a new leaf, a new lens, to bestow light upon or within. Astonishment is birthed at such revelation, but so is bewilderment. The immediacy in rumination of each page turned, yet the lack thereof in its preface. Decades of proclaimed teachings for ones lips to follow thought only for the becoming of its inevitable, though loamy, burial.

#idiomatic expression at its peak lol

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sannehnagi · 1 year

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Tinngannisii ši’itiš. A’ikiitšiitagaa nigirusiupiinaak itš’iityaagaa. He is on a path and walking. And if there are turns in the path he will not take them.

#conlang #constructed language #sanne #translation #artlang #constructed script #conscript #calligraphy #idiomatic expressions #you'd shorten it to just he is on a path and walking to mean someone is being very stubborn

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idiomland · 1 year

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The idiom ”Acid test” means “something that shows the true worth or value of something or someone.” Origin: from the testing of gold with nitric acid. First recorded in 1890–95.⠀ Example 1: The new party is doing better and better in the polls, but the acid test will be the next election.⠀ Example 2: They've always been good friends, but the acid test will come when they have to share a flat.

#idiomatic expressions

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spanishskulduggery · 1 year

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often i come across sentences in spanish where i know what the words mean separately, but they mean something a bit different when put together so i don't understand it. i can only think of one example right now and it's "qué lindo"

i've seen "qué lindo" often and would translate it as "that's pretty", but my mom said growing up she always understood it to mean "how pretty, so cute!"

i was just wondering if there is a common list of Spanish sentences where the words have different meanings when in a sentence altogether.

So, this may be difficult for me to fully explain [not your question, it's the exact linguistics of it] but I'll do my best

I believe what you're describing is in fact an idiomatic expression; although in my head the qué + something expressions are different than what I'm imagining when I think of idiomatic expressions [I'm thinking like "raining cats and dogs", that sort of thing]

But you're right that it would translate as "how nice/cute" etc

I'll include some of the qué ones - essentially, in this context qué comes out like "how/so" not "what"

qué bien = how nice / that's good / wonderful, great

qué bonito/a = how nice / how cute / lovely qué lindo/a = how nice / how cute / lovely [generally masculine, but could be feminine in some contexts with feminine nouns, because bonito/a and lindo/a are adjectives]

qué lástima = what a shame

qué pena = how sad / what a shame / what a pity

qué asco = how disgusting / that's disgusting / gross

qué rico = delicious, tasty

qué susto = what a fright / that scared me / that was surprising

qué horror = how awful / how horrible, how horrifying / how terrible, how terrifying

qué sorpresa = what a surprise

qué fuerte = so strong / so loud [qué fuerte can also be an expression of surprise or disbelief sort of like saying “oh my God!” or “wow!”; in general though, fuerte means “strong” or when talking about the volume of things it’s “loud”]

qué alivio = what a relief

qué barbaridad = what nonsense

¿Qué más da? = Who cares? / What does it matter? [lit. “what more does it give?”, it’s like “whatever” or an expression of disinterest]

You'll also see them in longer expressions like qué amable eres "you're so nice" or qué asco me das "you disgust me" or "you're gross"

There are quite a lot of these; and with adjectives it can be a little trickier. By themselves like qué bonito could be “so cute” or “how lovely”; if you’re talking about a person or a thing specifically it might change like qué bonito estás or qué bonita estás “how cute you look”; another one is qué guapa estás “you look so pretty” for women

And some other idioms that show up that are more... I don't know, "idiomatic adverbial phrases". They’re idiomatic but it’s less like little sayings and more “oh I need to know this”:

no hay de qué = you’re welcome [more formal than de nada; it’s kind of like “there’s no reason (to thank me)”]

a duras penas = hardly, barely, “by the skin of your teeth” [also seen as apenas which is the same thing]

a lo largo de = throughout

en sí = “in and of itself”

entre sí = amongst themselves

en balde = in vain [also, en vano, but el balde means “bucket” or “pail”]

por lo visto = apparently

de toda la vida = lifelong

a plena luz del día = “in broad daylight” [actually pretty literal, it’s “in full light of day”]

sin rodeos = bluntly, “no beating around the bush”

a tientas = “fumbling”, grasping, by touch [lit. “by touching” or “by reaching out”]

de moda = in fashion, fashionable [used with estar]

a solas = one-on-one, in private [lit. “by alone”]

a espaldas = behind someone’s back, in secret [lit. “by/at backs”]

de oídas = (from) hearsay, he-said-she-said, indirectly, “through the grapevine”

a la vez = simultaneously, at the same time

a su vez = in turn (used as “regarding” or “concerning these” if that makes sense)

a secas = plainly / with nothing else added

sin embargo = nevertheless

no obstante = nevertheless, notwithstanding

por eso = therefore

por supuesto = of course

por consiguiente = consequently, as a consequence

por lo demás = otherwise

por otro lado = “on the other hand”

en cambio = in exchange, swapped (for), in return

de ida y vuelta = round-trip

de vuelta = on the way back

(el) libre albedrío = free will

(el) ser humano = human being [el ser is “a being”; ser humano can thus be “being human” as a verb or “human being” as a noun; a decent pun]

ni en sueños = “not in my wildest dreams” [lit. “not even in dreams”]

las bellas artes = fine arts [not “beautiful arts” which is everyone’s first instinct]

a largo plazo = long-term

a corto plazo = short-term

mientras tanto = meanwhile

de todo corazón = with all your heart, wholeheartedly

a (la) medida = custom-made, customized

por cierto = “by the way...”

¿Cómo? = Huh? [when it’s not “how”, cómo is the commonly used word for “huh?” or “what’s that?” when you don’t hear someone]

de vez en cuando = from time to time [lit. “from time in when”]

menos mal (que + predicate) = “at least + predicate”, “thankfully...” [lit. “less bad”; you say this very often it’s like looking on the bright side... like menos mal que llegamos temprano “thankfully we got there early” or menos mal que no ha llovido todavía “at least it hasn’t rained yet / at least the rain didn’t start yet”]

de perlas = “(coming) in handy”, useful [lit. “of pearls”; usually used with venir, it’s like me viene de perlas “I could really use this” or “this is really handy (right now)”]

English tends to make a lot of compound words while Spanish doesn’t so much - so recién nacido/a is “newborn” [lit. “recently born”] or recién casado/a is “newlywed” [lit. “recently married”]

All of that to say, they may come across as a bit strange or a LOT strange depending on your current vocabulary and your circumstances

Also I’m not including the tener expressions which are common across all Romance Languages; but tener hambre for example is “to be hungry” or tener sueño is “to be sleepy” but literally mean “to have hunger” and “to have dream/sleepiness”... different from tener un sueño “to have a dream” like a goal

The ones that are coming to mind a lot are related to prepositions and there are plenty I’m not including BUT I like scanning wordreference for the ones with a or certain prepositions like a, de and por

And then some basic idiomatic expressions you should maybe know that are kind of like sayings:

(llover) a cántaros = to be raining cats and dogs [lit. “to rain by the bucket/pitcher”]

la media naranja = soulmate, better half [lit. “half an orange”; you may also see this as el alma gemela which is “kindred spirit” or literally “twin soul”]

el mundo es un pañuelo = “what a small world” [lit. “the world is a handkerchief”]

de tal palo tal astilla = chip off the old block, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree [lit. “from such a stick of wood, such a splinter”]

el pez gordo = “important person”, “the boss”, “VIP”, “fatcat”, “head honcho” [lit. “the fat fish”; anyone important could be el pez gordo and it can be said in a tongue in cheek way or seriously; sort of like saying eres el pez gordo “you’re the boss”]

(de) carne y hueso = “flesh and blood” [lit. “flesh/meat and bone”]

entre la espada y la pared = between a rock and a hard place [lit. “between the sword and the wall”]

valer la pena = to be worth it, to be worth the effort [lit. “to be worth the pain/trial/ordeal/sorrow”]

meter la pata = to mess up, to screw up [lit. “to stick one’s foot (in it)”]

la químera = a pipe dream, a fantasy [not just a “chimera”]

(el) terreno pantanoso = “thin ice”, dangerous terrain (sort of like “watch yourself”) [lit. “swampy terrain”]

a lo hecho pecho = what’s done is done [lit. “to what is done, chest”; kind of like “just deal with it” probably related to the heart]

agua pasada no mueve molino = “let bygones be bygones”, “it doesn’t matter now” [lit. “passed water doesn’t move the mill”]

(costar/valer) un ojo de la cara = “(to cost/be worth) an arm and a leg” [lit. “to cost/be worth an eye from the face”]

el príncipe azul = “prince charming”, “knight in shining armor” [lit. “blue prince”, probably related to blue bloods, or nobility]

estar en paz = “to be even”, no one owes anything / debts are settled [lit. “to be at peace”]

tomar el pelo (a alguien) = to fool someone, “to pull someone’s leg” [lit. “to grab the hair (of someone)”]

la flor y la nata = “the best of the best”, “best and brightest” [lit. “flower and cream”]

(de) mala leche = “bad blood” / “in a bad mood” [lit. “bad milk”; it is used very generally and widely, but anything mala leche immediately conjures up extreme negativity when describing people]

(ser) pan comido = “easy-peesy”, (to be) very easy [lit. “(to be) eaten bread”]

como uña y carne = “thick as thieves”, “the best of friends”, to be inseparable [lit. “to be like a nail (fingernail/toenail) and the flesh/meat”]

a flor de piel = “thin-skinned” / “heart on your sleeve” / “close to the surface” [lit. “to the flower of the skin”... it means that something is very close to the surface of your skin, so it can be that someone’s reaction to something is very obvious, or it can mean that someone is feeling very vulnerable, OR it could mean that someone’s nerves are frayed - it all depends on the context and the other words used. In Spanish if someone has no poker face you can use this expression, or if someone is really on edge you could use this expression. All it means is that something is more obvious than normal and you can clearly see someone’s reactions emotionally]

As always let me know if there are more examples or explanations of things you’d like. I’m not 100% sure I talked about the same things you were asking about

#Spanish #language learning #learn Spanish #langblr #vocabulario #idiomatic expressions #expresiones idiomaticas #language #languages #asks #long post

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